Will our great Creditor deny himself;
And for full payment take our filthy pelf?
Dispense with juftice, to let mercy vent?
And ftain his royal crown with 'minifh'd rent?
Unworthy thought! O let no mortal clod
Hold fuch bafe notions of a glorious God.
Heav'n's holy cov'nant, made for human race,
Confifts, or whole of works, or whole of grace..
If works will take the field, then works must be
For ever perfect to the laft degree:
Will God difpenfe with lefs? Nay, fure he won't
With ragged toll his royal law affront.

Can rags, that Sinai flames will foon difpatch,
E'er prove the fiery law's adequate match?
Vain man must be divorc'd, and choose to take
Another husband or a burning lake.

We find the divine volume no where teach New legal terms within our mortal reach. Some make, though in the facred page unknown, Sincerity affume perfection's throne:

}

But who will boaft this bafe ufurper's fway,
Save minifters of darknefs, that display
Invented night to ftifle fcripture day?
The nat'ralift's fincerity is naught,
That of the gracious is divinely taught;
Which teaching keeps their graces, if fincere,.
Within the limits of the gofpel fphere,
Where vaunting, none created graces fing,
Nor boast of streams, but of the Lord the spring..
Sincerity's the foul of ev'ry grace,

The quality of all the ransom'd race.
Of promis'd favour 'tis a fruit, a clause;
But no procuring term, no moving caufe.
How unadvis'd the legal mind confounds
The marks of divine favour with the grounds,

And qualities of covenanted friends

With the condition of the cov'nant blends?
Thus holding gofpel truths with legal arms,
Miftakes new-cov❜nant fruits for fed'ral terms.
The joyful found no change of terms allows,
But change of perfons, or another spouse.
The nature fame that finn'd muft do and die;
No milder terms in gofpel-offers lie.
For grace no other law abatment fhews,
But how law-debtors may reftore its dues;
Reftore, yea, through a Surety in their place,
With double int'reft and a better grace.
Here we of no new terms of life are told,
But of a husband to fulfil the old;

With him alone by faith we're call'd to wed,
And let no rival *bruik the marriage-bed.

* Enjoy

SECT. V.

Mens wain attempt to feek LIFE by CHRIST's righteousness, joined with their own; and legal hopes natural to all.

UT fill the bride reluctant difallows

The junior fuit, and hugs the fenior spouse.
Such the old felfish folly of her mind,
So bent to lick the duft, and grafp the wind,
Alledging works and duties of her own
May for her criminal offence atone;

She will her antic dirty robe provide,
Which vain the hopes will all pollutions hide.
The filthy rags that faints away have flung,
She holding, wraps and ells herfelf in dung.

Thus maugre all the light the gospel gives,
Unto her natiral confort fondly cleaves.
Though mercy fet the royal match in view,
She's loth to bid her ancient mate adieu.
When light of fcripture, reason, common fenfe,
Can hardly mortify her vain pretence,
To legal righteoufnefs; yet if at laft
Her confcience rous'd begins to ftand aghaft,
Prefs'd with the dread of hell, fhe'll rafhly patch,
And halve a bargain with the proffer'd match;
In hopes his help, together with her own,
Will turn to peaceful fmiles the wrathful frown.
Though grace the rifing Sun delightful fings,
With full falvation in his golden wings.

And righteoufnels complete; the faithlefs foul,
Receiving half the light, rejects the whole;
Revolves the facred page, but reads purblind
The gospel-meffage with the legal mind.
Men dream their ftate, ah! too, too flightly
Needs only be amended, not renew'd; [view'd,
Scorn to be wholly debtors unto grace,
Hopeful their works may meliorate their cafe...
They fancy prefent prayers, and future pains
Will for their former failings make amends:
To legal yokes they bow their fervile necks.
And, leaft foul flips their falfe repose perplex,
Think Jefus' merits make up all defects.
They patch his glorious robe with filthy rags,
And burn but incenfe to their proper drags *,
Difdain to ufe his righteoufnefs alone,

But as an aiding ftirr'p to mount their own;
Thus in Chrift's room his rival felf enthrone,
And vainly would, drefs'd up in legal trim,
Divide falvation 'tween themselves and him.
Hab. i. 1

But know, vain man, that to his fhare muft fall
The glory of the whole, or none at all.
In him all wisdom's hidden treasures lie *,
And all the fulness of the Deity

This ftore alone, immenfe, and never fpent,
Might poor infolvent debtors well content;
But to hell-priton juftly Heav'n will doom
Proud fools that on their petty stock prefume.
The fofteft couch that gilded nature knows,
Can give the waken'd confcience no repofe.
When God arraigns, what mortal pow'r can
Beneath the terror of his lifted hand! [ftand
Our fafety lies beyond the natʻral line,
Beneath a purple covert all divine.

Yet how is precious Chrift, the way, defpis'd,
And high the way of life by doing priz'd!
But can its vot'ries all its levy fhow?

They prize it moft, who leaft its burden know :
Who by the law in part would fave his foul,
Becomes a debtor to fulfil the whole ‡.

It's pris'ner he remains, and without bail,
'Till ev'ry mite be paid; and if he fail,
(As fure he muft, fince, by our finful breach,
Perfection far furmounts all mortal reach),
Then curs'd for ever muft his foul remain :
And all the folk of God must fay, AMEN §.
Why, feeking that the law fhould help afford,
In honouring the law, he flights its Lord.
Who gives his law fulfilling righteousness
To be the naked finner's perfect dress,
In which he might with fpotlefs beauty fhine
Before the face of majefty divine:

Yet, lo! the linner works with mighty pains
A garment of his own to hide his ftains;
*Col. ii. 3. † Col. ii. 9. Gal. v. 3. Deut. xxvii. 26.

Ungrateful, overlooks the gifts of God,

The robe wrought by his hand, dy'd in his blood.
In vain the Son of God this web did weave,
Could our vile rags fufficient fhelter give:
In vain he ev'ry thread of it did draw,
Could finners be o'ermantled by the law.
Can men's falvation on their works be built,
Whofe faireft actions nothing are but guilt?
Or can the law fupprefs th' avenging flame, i
When now its only office is to damn?

Did life come by the law in part or whole,
Bleft Jefus dy'd in vain to fave a foul.
Thofe then who life by legal means expect,
To them is Chrift become of no effect ;*
Because their legal mixtures do in fact
Wifdom's grand project plainly counteract.
How clofe proud carnal reasonings combine,
To fruftrate fov'reign grace's great defign?
Man's heart by nature weds the law alone,
Nor will another paramour enthrone.

True, many feem by courfe of life profane, No favour for the law to entertain

But break the bands, and caft the cords away,
That would their raging lufts and paffions stay.
Yet ev❜n this reigning madness may declare,
How ftrictly wedded to the law they are;
For now (however rich they festra before)
Hopelets to pay law-debt, they give it o'er,
Like defp'rate debtors mad, still run them-
felves in more.

Defpair of fuccefs fhews their ftrong defires,
Till legal hopes are parch'd in luftful fires.
'Let's give, fay they, our lawless will free fcope,
And live at random, for there is no hope‡.

*Gal. ii. 21. V. 2, 4. + Jer. xviii. 12.